All Blacks Top Rugby Championship at Halfway, Wallabies Win

By Dan Baynes -
Sep 8, 2012

New Zealand beat Argentina 21-5 to
lead the Rugby Championship at the halfway stage, as Australia
rallied to defeat South Africa 26-19 for its first victory in
the expanded southern hemisphere tournament.

Wingers Julian Savea and Cory Jane touched down for the
world champion All Blacks in the last 13 minutes to seal the win
in wet and windy conditions in Wellington last night. Fly-half
Aaron Cruden kicked the other 11 points, while prop Rodrigo
Roncero drove over for Argentina’s try.

“In the second half we spent most of the time at the right
end of the field and that pressure told in the end,” All Blacks
captain Richie McCaw said in a televised interview. “We got our
game going.”

No. 1-ranked New Zealand, which led 6-5 at half time, tops
the standings with 12 points after three of six rounds, a lead
of five over South Africa, with Australia on four points and
Argentina on two. The Springboks in 2005 are the only team to
win their first three matches of the Tri-Nations, the
competition’s forerunner, and not secure the title. Argentina
joined the championship this year.

The Wallabies, who were criticized in the Australian media
following back-to-back losses to the All Blacks, trailed 13-6 at
halftime in Perth before rallying with tries from replacement
loose forward Scott Higginbotham and prop Ben Alexander. Inside
center Berrick Barnes kicked four penalties and two conversions
for a perfect record from his shots at goal as Australia scored
its record fifth straight win over the Springboks.

Only Try

Winger Bryan Habana scored South Africa’s only try, while
Morne Stenyn added two penalties and a conversion and Frans Steyn booted two penalties.

“We got behind three times but responded in each instance
with some good character,” Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said in
a televised interview. “In a testy situation, they showed good
composure.”

Alexander broke a 19-19 tie with 11 minutes remaining with
a 15-meter charge down the narrow side as Wallabies captain Will Genia lay stricken near halfway with a knee injury. The
television match official confirmed that Alexander had grounded
the ball and Barnes converted from the sideline.

Genia Injury

Scrum-half Genia said after the match that he twisted his
knee when taking a high ball and “heard a few cracks.” Genia
ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and will be sidelined
for as long as six months, the team said on its Twitter account
today. Australia has already lost first-choice skipper James Horwill and his deputy David Pocock this season to injuries.

“It’s quite sore but we’ll see how it pulls up,” Genia
said at a post-match interview he conducted on crutches.
Brett Sheehan was added to the squad as cover for Genia and will
join Nick Phipps as the scrum-half options.

At Westpac Stadium, the All Blacks led by a point at the
break as both teams struggled for control in the rain and
swirling gusts.

Cruden, who was called into the starting lineup two days
ago after Dan Carter injured his calf, missed a third-minute
penalty from out wide before making it 3-0 from in front of the
posts five minutes later. The Pumas took a 5-3 lead in the 13th
minute when Roncero drove through two All Blacks tacklers close
to the line.

Cruden put the home team back in front with a 40-meter
penalty. All Blacks flanker Victor Vito was denied a score in
the corner by a try-saving tackle by Pumas center Marcelo Bosch
just before halftime, when a floodlight failure kept the players
off for an extra 10 minutes.

“It was a bit weird but the big thing was to keep your
mind on the job,” McCaw said. “I thought we did that well.”

Sin-Bin

Cruden booted the first points of the second half to make
it 9-5. Argentina went down to 14 men temporarily after an hour
when flanker Julio Farias Cabello was sent to the sin-bin for a
deliberate knock down that may have deprived the All Blacks of a
try-scoring opportunity.

Savea touched down in the 67th minute after Conrad Smith
drew several defenders and passed to center partner Ma’a Nonu,
who offloaded for the winger to score his fourth try in his
third Test. Six minutes later, Jane went over in the opposite
corner after collecting a long, looping pass from Cruden, who
added the conversion from the touchline to close the scoring.

“It was very, very tough the intensity today,” Pumas
captain Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe said in a televised
interview. “We’re playing against the top three teams in the
world and our goal is to always improve.”

Argentina travels to Australia next to play the Wallabies
in the Gold Coast on Sept. 15, when New Zealand hosts South
Africa in Dunedin.